Router and method for routing data

ABSTRACT

A device and method for routing network data through a network. The device comprises an end cap assembly which includes an end cap coupled to a wiring card having an interposer board. The method includes processing a plurality of network transmissions through an end cap, and routing the network transmissions to an interposer board.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/263,696, filed on Nov. 1, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention broadly relates in general to a device, such as a router or switch, and the like. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a router and method for routing data in a network.

2. Description of the Background Art

It is well known that a router is a device that connects two networks (e.g., local networks or networks in the Internet) frequently over large distances. It understands one or more network protocols, such as IP or IPX. A router accepts transmitted packets (i.e., data) on at least two network interfaces, and forwards packets from one interface to another. Routers may be programmed to filter out some packets, and to dynamically change the route by which packets are routed or transmitted through a network. Routers often use different media on each interface. For instance, a router might have one Ethernet port and one ISDN port.

Routers, particularly mobile routers, have different deployment scenarios, depending on the type of data that is to be routed throughout a network. Some routers are disposed in trunks of vehicles (e.g., public safety vehicles), while others are mounted on other objects, such as traffic poles, curbside cabinets, buildings, rugged all-terrain vehicles, etc. Each of these deployments requires a unique interface to the router. In some cases native connectors for ethernet signals are required. In other cases, there is a need for rugged circular style connectors, or single ganged connectors, that carry all the signals to another location at which point they will fan out. Therefore, routers are typically custom made in accordance with the particular intended deployment. This requires vendors to possess numerous different types of router-production resources, since each customer may request a different type of router with different capabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective vies of an embodiment of a device (e.g., a router, switch, or the like), with the end cap assembly being represented by solid lines and with its associated body and mount being represented by dashed lines.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a segmented perspective view of the device of FIG. 1, with the segmented end cap assembly being represented by solid lines and with its associated segmented body and mount being represented by dashed lines.

FIG. 8 is a rear elevational view of the end cap for the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a rear elevational view of the wiring card electrically coupled to the appropriate components extending into and/or on the inside face of the end cap of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of the rear face of the wiring card which electrically couples to the MIC stack assembly within the body of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the description herein for embodiments of the present invention, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of components and/or methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that an embodiment of the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other apparatus, systems, assemblies, methods, components, materials, parts, and/or the like. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of the present invention.

Referring in detail now to the drawings, there is seen in FIG. 1 an embodiment of a device, generally illustrated as 10 and having an end cap assembly 12 represented by solid lines. The device 10 also includes a body 20 and a mount 22, all represented by dashed lines. The device 10 may be any device, including a router, a switch, or any other suitable device. For various embodiments of the present invention, the device 10 is a router, which may be a wireless router, or a router requiring wires for operation. Disposed within body 20, as best shown in FIG. 7 in a dashed line configuration, is a mobile interface card (MIC) stack assembly, generally illustrated as 60 and including a wiring board 62. The wiring board 62 is common between all deployment scenarios and the MIC stack assembly 60. The purpose of the wiring board 62 is to reduce the number of wiring harnesses between the MIC stack assembly 60 and the end cap assembly 12 including a wiring card (indicated as “30” below).

The end cap assembly 12 includes an end cap 13 having a face 14 including a plurality of apertures, generally illustrated as 16. Apertures 16 include: (i) apertures 16 a for exposing and being illuminated by LEDs; (ii) apertures 16 b for providing openings for interface connectors related to console wireless mobile interface card (WMIC); (iii) apertures 16 c for interface connectors related to fast ethernet (FE) ports; (iv) apertures 16 d for interface connectors related to Aux mobile access router card (MARC); (v) aperture 16 e for interface connectors related to console MARC; and (vi) apertures 16 f and 16 g for interface connectors related to serial ports. A power connector 18 is conveniently disposed on the end cap 13. The power connector 18 may be purchased commercially from Tyco under the product name CPC 11-4 796095-2 (4 pin circular)). As best shown in FIG. 8, the end cap 13 includes a plurality of internally threaded receptacles 15.

The end cap assembly 12 also includes a plurality of plugs or connectors, generally illustrated as 40. As best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, connectors 40 comprises: (i) sockets 42 having rear pins 42 a; (ii) connector ports 44 terminating in rear pins 44 a; (iii) plug 46 having front pins 46 a and rear pins 46 b; (iv) socket 47 having rear pins 47 a; (v) plug 48 having front pins 48 a and rear pins 48 b; and (vi) plug 49 having front pins 49 a and rear pins 49 b. As further best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, sockets 42, connector ports 44, plug 46, socket 47, plug 48 and plug 49 respectively lodge in apertures 16 b, aperture 16 c, aperture 16 d, aperture 16 e, aperture 16 f, and aperture 16 g. Signals passing through the connectors 40 are subsequently transmitted to the mobile interface card (MIC) stack assembly 60 (including the wiring board 62). The MIC stack assembly 60 may then reroute the signals (e.g., LED, serial, fast ethernet, console, and auxiliary) back out of the connectors 40 for transmission to other network devices. Sockets 42 may be purchased commercially from Amphenol under the product name P-MDB-E09SA-755 (DB9 socket). Connector ports 44 may be purchased commercially from Amphenol under the product name P-MRJ-518X-X1X (RJ45 Jack). Plug 46 may be purchased commercially from Amphenol under the product name P-MDB-E09SA-755 (DB9 socket). Socket 47 may be purchased commercially from Amphenol under the product name P-MDB-E09SA-755 (DB9 socket). Plugs 47 and 48 (S232 DCE) may be purchased commercially from Amphenol under the product name P-MDB-E09SA-755 (DB9 socket). As best shown in FIG. 7, a light pipe assembly 50 may be disposed behind each of the apertures 16 a to provide appropriately illumination.

The end cap assembly 12 also includes a wiring card 30 having a front face 30 a and a rear face 30 b. A plurality of connector adaptors, generally illustrated as 70, is disposed on the front face 30 a. Connector adaptors 70 include: (i) connector adaptors 71 having openings 71 a for slidably receiving rear pins 42 a of sockets 42; (ii) connector adaptors 72 having openings 72 a for slidably receiving rear pins 44 a of connector ports 44; (iii) connector adaptor 73 having openings 73 a for slidably receiving rear pins 46 b of plug 46; (iv) connector adaptor 74 having openings 74 a for slidably receiving rear pins 47 a of socket 47; (v) connector adaptor 75 having openings 75 a for slidably receiving rear pins 48 a of plug 48; and (vi) connector adaptor 76 having openings 76 a for slidably receiving rear pins 49 of plug 49. The wiring card 30 also includes a plurality of circuitries 78 for electrically mating with respective light pipe assemblies 50, and a plurality of openings 77 for slidably receiving the receptacles 15. Disposed on the rear face 30 b of the wiring card 30 is an interposer board 80. All signals (e.g., LED, serial, fast ethernet, console, and auxiliary) emanating from or through the plurality of plugs or connectors 40 are routed to the interposer board 80, which, in one embodiment is available commercially from Hirose under the product name Hirose 30 mm stack height IT1 168 pin series connector. From the interposer board 80 all signals are transmitted to the MIC stack assembly 60. As previously indicated, the MIC stack assembly 60 may subsequently route the signals out of the connectors 40 in the same manner as the signals were transmitted to the MIC stack assembly 60 (i.e., through the wiring board 62, through the interposer board 80, through the wiring card 70, and through the connectors 40).

Practice of various embodiments of the present invention provides an end cap assembly 12 for a router which allows 90% of the router design to remain fixed regardless of the use of the router. The only change to the router would be the end cap assembly 12 and/or the input/output circuit card assembly (i.e., the wiring card 30). The wiring card 30 is unique for each type of end cap assembly 12, but the interface (i.e., the wiring board 62) between the wiring card 30 and the MIC assembly 60 is common for all deployment scenarios. Thus, the actual deployment configuration would not be determined until installation of the end cap assembly 12. The production line would essentially build only one type of router unit until the last step at which time the appropriate end cap assembly 12 would be installed. In addition, a customer could order the end cap assembly 12 and make any particular desired change (e.g., changing the wiring card 30) to satisfy the customer's end use, particularly if there could be changes in the operating environment to which the router would be subjected. Embodiments of the invention achieve this by taking all signals (e.g., LED, serial, fast ethernet, console, and auxiliary) and routing them to a common interface (e.g., the interposer board 80, a 168 pin connector) on the wiring card 30 which is part of the end cap assembly 12.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “a specific embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and not necessarily in all embodiments. Thus, respective appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or “in a specific embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics of any specific embodiment of the present invention may be combined in any suitable manner with one or more other embodiments. It is to be understood that other variations and modifications of the embodiments of the present invention described and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings herein and are to be considered as part of the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Additionally, any directional arrows in the drawings/Figures should be considered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwise specifically noted. Furthermore, the term “or” as used herein is generally intended to mean “and/or” unless otherwise indicated. Combinations of components or steps will also be considered as being noted, where terminology is foreseen as rendering the ability to separate or combine is unclear.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed herein. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes only, various equivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate. As indicated, these modifications may be made to the present invention in light of the foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention and are to be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Thus, while the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of embodiments of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. It is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular terms used in following claims and/or to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: an end cap assembly comprising: an end cap having a face that includes apertures configured to couple connectors to the face of the end cap, wherein the connectors are configured for passing network transmissions of different types; and an interface including an interposer board and connector adaptors configured to couple the connectors to the interface such that all network transmissions passing through the connectors are routed to the interposer board.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apertures include at least one of an aperture for exposing and being illuminated by light emitting diodes (LEDs), an aperture for providing openings for interface connectors related to console wireless mobile interface card (WMIC), an aperture for interface connectors-related to fast Ethernet (FE) ports, an aperture for interface connectors related to Aux mobile access router card (MARC), an aperture for interface connectors related to console MARC, and an aperture for interface connectors related to serial ports.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connectors include at least one of sockets having rear pins, connector ports terminating in rear pins and plug having front pins and rear pins.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connector adaptors include at least one of connector adaptors having openings for receiving rear pins of sockets, connector adaptors having openings for receiving rear pins of connector ports, and connector adaptors having openings for receiving rear pins of plugs.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising light pipe assemblies, wherein each light pipe assembly is disposed behind each of the apertures and configured to provide illumination.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the interface includes circuitries that are configured for electrically mating with the light pipe assemblies.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a mobile interface card (MIC) stack assembly including a wiring board that is configured to couple to the interposer board forming a data link between the end cap assembly and the MIC stack assembly, the data link enabling an exchange of all network transmissions between the connectors included in the end cap assembly and the MIC stack assembly.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the exchange of all network transmissions between the connectors included in the end cap assembly and the MIC stack assembly includes forwarding, by the end cap assembly using the connectors to the MIC stack assembly, network transmissions received from a network device, and rerouting the network transmissions back out from the MIC stack assembly through the connectors to other network devices.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the network transmissions include at least one of a LED network transmission, a serial network transmission, a FE network transmission, a console network transmission and an auxiliary network transmission.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein all network transmissions received from a network device by the end cap assembly using the connectors are routed to the interposer board included in the interface, and the network transmissions are transmitted from the interposer board to the wiring board included in the MIC stack assembly, and wherein the network transmissions are routed out from the MIC stack assembly using the wiring board through the interposer board and the interface, and through the connectors to other network devices.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the interposer board includes an ITI 168 pin series connector having a 30 mm stack height.
 12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the MIC stack assembly including the wiring board is common for all deployment scenarios of the apparatus.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the end cap assembly is different for different deployment scenarios of the apparatus.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus includes a wireless router.
 15. A method comprising: receiving, using connectors included in an end cap assembly, network transmissions from network devices, wherein the end cap assembly includes: an end cap having a face that includes apertures configured to couple the connectors to the face of the end cap, wherein the connectors are configured for passing network transmissions of different types, and an interface including an interposer board and connector adaptors configured to couple the connectors to the interface such that all network transmissions passing through the connectors are routed to the interposer board; routing the network transmissions to the interposer board; and forwarding the network transmissions from the interposer board to a wiring board included in a mobile interface card (MIC) stack assembly, wherein the wiring board configured to couple to the interposer board forming a data link between the end cap assembly and the MIC stack assembly, the data link enabling an exchange of all network transmissions between the connectors included in the end cap assembly and the MIC stack assembly.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the network transmissions include at least one of a LED network transmission, a serial network transmission, a FE network transmission, a console network transmission and an auxiliary network transmission.
 17. The method of claim 15, comprising: processing the network transmissions using the MIC stack assembly; transmitting the processed network transmissions from the MIC stack assembly to the interposer board through the wiring board; and rerouting the processed network transmissions from the interposer board to a plurality of other network devices using the interface and through the connectors.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the MIC stack assembly including the wiring board is common for all deployment scenarios, and wherein the end cap assembly is different for different deployment scenarios.
 19. A computer program product embodied in a machine-readable non-transitory storage medium including instructions executable by a processor and configured to cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving, using connectors included in an end cap assembly, network transmissions from network devices, wherein the end cap assembly includes: an end cap having a face that includes apertures configured to couple the connectors to the face of the end cap, wherein the connectors are configured for passing network transmissions of different types, and an interface including an interposer board and connector adaptors configured to couple the connectors to the interface such that all network transmissions passing through the connectors are routed to the interposer board; routing the network transmissions to the interposer board; and forwarding the network transmissions from the interposer board to a wiring board included in a mobile interface card (MIC) stack assembly, wherein the wiring board configured to couple to the interposer board forming a data link between the end cap assembly and the MIC stack assembly, the data link enabling an exchange of all network transmissions between the connectors included in the end cap assembly and the MIC stack assembly.
 20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the network transmissions include at least one of a LED network transmission, a serial network transmission, a FE network transmission, a console network transmission and an auxiliary network transmission.
 21. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the processor to perform operations further comprising: processing the network transmissions using the MIC stack assembly; transmitting the processed network transmissions from the MIC stack assembly to the interposer board through the wiring board; and rerouting the processed network transmissions from the interposer board to a plurality of other network devices using the interface and through the connectors.
 22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the MIC stack assembly including the wiring board is common for all deployment scenarios, and wherein the end cap assembly is different for different deployment scenarios. 